WOW! Can it be true? Washington D.C. to New York, 43 minutes total travel time... including walking to the station.

1/5th the Time ... 1/5th the Cost ... 1/5th the Energy.

Slide show (below) explains technology in novice format.

The Dream ... The Vision ... A Purpose ... It is dangerous to share a life's goal (sometime referred to as a dream). It makes a person vulnerable. It can create expectations. But, there are things important enough to make oneself vulnerable. When the path to achieving The Dream is clear, it is time to let it be known ... per se, raise the stakes ... and make it happen.

​The Dream is to see others realize those dreams of theirs that are pure in spirit ... that do not adversely impact others. But, all too often what is seen is the collapse of dreams. As a teenager, I saw neighbors realize sadness and financial ruin because the prices of gasoline increased so dramatically/suddenly that their businesses failed (my purpose was born). In short, the lack of our nation's energy security and other factors (like the cost of travel) increase both the cost and risk of our children to realize their dreams. Most or our children have to settle for far less than what is reasonable. My life's goal has to advance energy security of our great country (and other countries), to reduce the cost and risk of our children to attain their dreams, and to ultimately see more people realize their dreams. Galen J. Suppes

The Path - The quintessential scientific breakthrough is an energy source that is cheap and abundant. Well, the fact is that (at least in the USA) we have cheap and abundant energy. We simply use too much of that cheap and abundant energy. Terreplane brings forth the following: a) 1/5th the energy for travel, b) 1/5th the time of travel, c) use of grid electricity for that travel, and d) applications ranging from commuter to trans-continental transit. By far, it (Terreplane) is the most viable means to eliminate most of consumption of petroleum fuel currently used for air transit. It can single-handedly realize greenhouse gas emission reductions far greater than previously envisioned.

The Challenge - The challenge of realizing the dream is no longer one of technology or cost-reduction breakthroughs. The challenge is one of communicating how the technology has been identified... it is primarily a matter of "development" of that technology rather than breakthroughs to identify the path. The above slide and below additional details are the WOW! section, which attempts to describe how Terreplane is fully attainable in short order; it describes this in a common sense methodology (no need for a college degree to understand). Please read and try to understand this path. Let others know. And let the pursuit be much greater than one person's dream.

Easy to Understand Technology (slide show supplement)Let's walk through the technology, step-by-step. It can be easier for you to understand and appreciate the technology than the hardened professional who dominates today's industry. Sadly, it is difficult for that engineer to accept that something so amazing has been overlooked for so long.

Step 1 - A 1000 Year-Old Aerial CartA mechanically-inclined high school student can do in a matter of months (with reasonable financing) what has eluded the industry for decades. Use a 1.5 inch zipline (wire rope) as the guideway, place wheels on a short pipe to run along that guideway, connect the pipe to a seat/car hanging below the guideway, and finish the system with an electric motor, battery, and structural enforcement to move this "aerial tram" along the path.

Step 2 - Use a Support Cable to Take Sag Out of Guideway CableTo make the system practical, three additional steps are necessary: a) weld connections to the bottom third of the cable at spacings of about 10 feet, b) run a support cable above that zipline and connect that support cable to the zipline like a suspension bridge with the goal of substantially eliminating the sag in the zipline, and c) cut a grove along the pipe that runs along the zipline so the pipe does not collide with the connections.

RETROSPEC #1: These two steps that can be performed by millions who of mechanically inclined, not even requiring a high school education will get a basic system operational. And if done well, that system should actually be commercially competitive for many applications. However, that system has shortcomings, including maintenance concerns related to: a) the weld (or braze) of a connector to a wire rope and b) the wear/tear associated with wheels running on a wire rope.

Step 2b - Improve connectors and Fix Problem with Wear/Tear on CableTwo approaches are available to place robust compression fittings on cables without creating a "bump in the road". These approaches are described by references at the end of the LICENSING tab. The easy solution to reduce zipline wear/tear is to make sure the wheels are made of a material that is softer than the cable; this makes maintenance cheaper and improves safety (a solution that is substantially free of wear/tear is described later).

RETROSPEC #2: At this point, the basic components are in place for a system that is commercially competitive in many applications (depending on the robustness of each component). For example, it would be a relatively inexpensive method for people to cross rivers and gorges. A larger version of the system could ferry vehicles across expanses. The next problem that arises has to do with capacity. Specifically, the guideway will go down as a vehicle passes and back up after the vehicle has passed. This vertical movement will limit capacity.

Step 3 - A Great Application for Linear Motor TechnologyLinear motor technology is commercially used today on trains such as the terminal train at JFK Airport in New York. See the INDUCTION MOTOR tab for further details on how it works. Here, the induction motor provides guidance in addition to light-weight propulsion ... free of traction concerns and with substantial elimination of wear/tear on cable.

Step 4 - Flying Glider VehiclesTo stop vertical perturbations/movements of the cable, the weight of the vehicle and pipe/chassis should be supported by aerodynamic lift. With ultra-light designs and airfoil shapes, this flight occurs at about 90 mph without the need of wings on the vehicle. Even crude designs will work, and optimal designs should offer amazing performance. At speeds slower than about 90 mph, the zipline can be reinforced eliminate/reduce movement. The first/last quarter-mile of zipline can be reinforced so as to hold the vehicle weights with minimal vertical movement. Flaps on the vehicle can fine-tune the flight of the vehicle against changes in weight and wind so that the primary force on the cable is a pulling force.

RETROSPEC #3: Because the ziplines and support cables are so inexpensive, this system defined to this point is now both inexpensive compared to alternatives and is high performance (high speed). Completing the system to reach larger markets includes adopting the following technologies: a) a vehicle-controlled switching method that allows a vehicle to merge onto or leave a zipline at high speeds, and b) other details to maximize inherent vehicle stability during flight and loading/offloading.

WOW! This technology is amazingly simple compared to the complexity of jet aircraft and gasoline engines that we use every day.